Forum:27: Playthings of the Body
The party quickly made preparations to extract the prisoners from the lumenated mine. Lin resized two dwarven lead-lined suits to fit herself and Yahtuh, Ten-Tongues fixed the elevator granting access to the mine and obtained from the Sagitta a spell to cover himself and Artyom in a thin lead coat, and Artyom used divine magic to cure Lin of her lumenation sickness. On descending into the mine, the party found it infested with more of the oozes they had encountered on the surface. They discovered that the oozes had a very limited ability to sense living creatures, and a somewhat stronger sense for their favourite food, lumenated material. Using carts of ore, the party was able to distract and trap most of the oozes they encountered. Focused fire destroyed the rest. While securing the area they also encountered the corpses of dwarves that appeared to be killed by humanoid violence rather than lumenation or the oozes. The lowest layer of the mine was occupied by an ominous mist. When Ten-Tongues left the elevator, the mist manifested a seemingly hostile ghostly face. Lin and Yahtuh blasted the gaseous creature back with wind and positive energy, respectively, and while it re-formed Ten-Tongues quickly shielded the last prisoners with lead and evacuated them. Upon returning to the surface, the party discovered tensions brewing between the former guards and the newly freed prisoners. They were however able to defuse the situation by pointing out that the guards had been unaware of the conditions the prisoners were subjected to, and that while they had some responsibility to make restitution to the prisoners ultimate responsibility lay with the elven command. The Librennian prisoners also advised Lexington that the medic Cartier had betrayed their expedition but they did not know what had become of his father. The group then returned into the mine to explore the final floor, looking for any clues to the story behind the dwarven corpses. They discovered, behind an apparently trapped door, an isolated living quarters containing a living dwarf. The dwarf appeared upset and distracted. Piecing together his babbling, the party was able to determine that he was a patient of Dr. Vavilov, and that his ability to regulate his emotions had somehow been damaged. The dwarf also revealed that the surface elves were preparing a massive lumenation bomb to detonate underneath a lake near a major drow population centre - he presented calculations indicating that such a bomb would contaminate the entire continent's groundwater and make Snezhny essentially inhabitable for decades or centuries. The party decided that the dwarf should immediately be taken with them in order to see if his condition could be cured and to protect him in the event that the surface elves realized he represented a security breach. Ten-Tongues however observed a device implanted in the dwarf and together with Yahtuh was able to convince the dwarf to take a sleeping extract. The patient thus anesthetized, Ten-Tongues operated and discovered a large amount of explosive material wired to the dwarf's organs. A remote-controlled device would be able to detonate the explosive in response either to a remote signal or to Despite the Sagitta's recommendation that the party not attempt to defuse a bomb without proper training, the party and Lexington determined to accept the risk. Unfortunately the bomb was designed with multiple failsafes and was detonated in the attempt. The party was not significantly injured, but the dwarf was killed. Ten-Tongues, while momentarily stunned, was presented with a vision from Genbu featuring Vavilov speaking with Detri. The conversation indicated that the bomb, named Baleine, was almost ready. The party thus returned to the Sagitta, their stated mission accomplished but their thoughts turned anxiously to what was to come.